IQNA

TEHRAN (IQNA) – The Zionist Regime of Israel resumed constructing its controversial separation wall northwest of the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem that is viewed as an embodiment of Tel Aviv's oppression against the Palestinians.

Israeli forces have placed a four-meter-high barbed wire
fence in Ein Jwaizeh area to the northwest of al-Walaja village, completely
encircling it, Hasan Brijiyeh from the committee against the Apartheid Wall and
settlements in Bethlehem, told the official Palestinian news agency Wafa on
Saturday.

"Construction of the barrier in the West Bank gravely
violates the rights of Palestinians in the areas affected, restricting their
access to their lands, crucial services and relatives on the other side of the
barrier. The barrier also prevents any possibility of economic development,”
said Israeli rights group B'Tselem on its website.

Israel began building the barrier of walls and fences inside
the occupied West Bank back in 2002. Tel Aviv argues that the project is aimed
at preventing infiltration into the occupied territories, but Palestinians say
the move is yet another violation of their rights and allows for further
annexation of their land, Press TV reported.

If completed, the barrier will result in the isolation of
9.4 percent of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem al-Quds, according to
the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The International Court of Justice said in an advisory
opinion issued in 2004 that the "apartheid wall" violates
international law and urged Israel to remove it from the occupied territories.

In another development on Saturday, Tel Aviv announced a
closure of the West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip ahead of the Israeli
holidays of Memorial Day and Independence Day. The closure will last until Tuesday
night.

Tel Aviv has accelerated its land grab and settlement
construction activities in the occupied Palestinian territories after US
President Donald Trump took office earlier this year.

The settlement activities are in defiance of United Nations
Security Council Resolution 2334. The resolution, which was adopted in December
2016, condemned the settlements as a "flagrant violation of international
law."

Earlier this week, Israel’s Housing Ministry said it had
been working for two years on the plan to build 25,000 units in Jerusalem
al-Quds.